Pumpkin-Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cakies
The Autumnal Equinox is upon us and in my hOMe that means enjoying a special fall treat while we celebrate among the fruiting trees in our backyard with the garden fairies as we gratefully welcome the beautiful new season.
To me, fall is the season that represents the most change. It's when -- even in the midst of a pandemic and a bunch of uncertainty -- we are reminded to slow down, accept and trust the process of life, and transition to a more contemplative mindset. We are reminded that everything changes and life is always bountiful, renewing and expanding.
Fall is also the season that beckons my heart to be extraordinarily grateful and my hands to cook-cook-cook!
Seriously, I become a little like an old time-y pioneer woman making all the things from scratch and storing them away for winter. A pioneer woman with a playlist of great, inspiring podcasts to listen to while creating deliciousness for us to enjoy for the coming months.
For this Autumnal Equinox, I'm sharing a recipe that we absolutely love in my home! I bake these Pumpkin-Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cakies from the first sign of fall until the certain end of winter. My printed recipe is used so often that it's tattered and covered with specks of countless past batches made.
In other words, these are scrumptious and you should try them. All us Verderames think you'll love them throughout pumpkin-spice season.
These "cakies" are gluten free, substantial, healthy, and can be easily made vegan by swapping the eggs for flax or chia egg substitute. I often use eggs because they make these extra fluffy-firm (trust me, that's a thing), but this recipe bakes up really well both ways.
To make egg substitute, simply soak ground flax or whole chia seeds in warm water, whisking occasionally. You'll need 1 TBS of either chia or flax to 3 TBS of warm water. After at least 10 minutes, strain out the seeds. Use the thick liquid left behind in place of the eggs. 1/4 Cup of flax or chia liquid = 1 egg. For this recipe you'll need 3/4 Cups.
While my favorite version of this recipe is the "cakie" (my made-up word to describe a cookie with a soft caky texture), these bake into incredible blondies when the batter is split in half and spread evenly into two 9x13' baking pans. Alternatively, you can even make a sort of coffee cake if you pour all the batter into one 9x13". See the notes in the recipe below.
The hazelnuts are an added treat giving sweet-nutty crunch to an already yummy snack. Eating these is like having everything you love about pumpkin spice and natural Nutella bundled into one treat. Yum!
Plus, hazelnuts are loaded with nutrition, too! Did you know that they're a great source of Omega 6 and Omega 9 fatty acids through mono and polyunsaturated fats? They also provide you with plenty of B6, folate, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Wow! This little unassuming nut can do a lot. It can even be called a Filbert which is my current favorite thing to say because.... Filbert! That's so fun to say! Of course you can bake these up without hazelnuts, or with the same amount of any other nut you prefer (I recommend walnuts or pecans).
There are many lovely places to delight in nature, but I have to say my desert garden is truly blessed! I'm extremely grateful to have such beauty and bounty right outside my door to rely on as a quick nature fix every single day. Even when we go visit grander natural spaces, we always come home and spend special time in our yard to celebrate each season.
In our modest backyard we have a thriving herb and strawberry patch, a good-sized raised bed vegetable garden that yields fresh food all year long, four fruiting trees, an enormous Chitalpa Tree that drops its dainty pale pink trumpets from spring through fall, and a big array of ornamental flowers that keep the hummingbirds and at least five varieties of bees happy. In our small front yard we've got even more flowers that bloom on rotation throughout the year, a shady Ash Tree, an almond tree, and another small edible patch dedicated to tastiness that grows well in full, hot sun. We don't have a huge bit of land, but with a little help from my 11 year old daughter who inspired it all when she was 1 and has worked on it every season since (she was clearly a fairy before we ever knew her), the good old Farmer's Almanac, and what must be dedicated fairies because what the heck do we know?!, we've got quite the little slice of life. So I'm not kidding when I say we celebrate the seasons with an abundance of gratitude. If there's an equinox or solstice, no matter the season, you'll find us in our yard creating fun playscapes for the fairies, observing all the aliveness in the ants, birds and bees, and chowing down on something seasonably delectable!
Wherever you live, I hope you take a little time this Autumnal Equinox to sit peacefully among nature and revel in it's beauty and bounty. Listen to the buzzes, chirps and squawks. Watch the busy bodies in the soil and the ant highways on tree trunks. Begin to revel in all you have to be grateful for and enjoy these oh-so-yummy cakies from my hOMe to yours, all fall long!
Without further ado, the recipe...
Pumpkin Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cakies
by Maggie Verderame
Yields approximately 52 cakies.
3 Cups Oat Flour*
1.5 tsp Cinnamon (Powder)
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Tbs Baking Soda
¼ tsp Sea Salt
1.5 Cups Pumpkin Purée (plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
¼ Cup +2 Tbs Honey
3 Large Eggs
1.5 tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ Cup +2 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 Cups Standard Size Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Raw -or- Dry Roasted & Unsalted Hazelnuts — coarsely chopped
Greasing Oil (coconut, avocado, vegetable… whatever you prefer)
Preheat oven to 325˚.
In a large bowl, whisk together oat flour, cinnamon, pie spice, baking soda and sea salt until fully combined.
In a medium bowl mix together the pumpkin purée, honey, eggs, vanilla and brown sugar. Mix vigorously until smooth.
Scrape wet mixture into the dry oat mixture and fold together thoroughly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix to be sure dry ingredients incorporate into wet ingredients completely. Once fully combined, fold chocolate chips and hazelnuts evenly into the mixture.
Use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out batter and drop it at least 1” apart onto either parchment or silpat lined cookie sheets, good nonstick cookie sheets, or a cookie sheet well oiled with greasing oil.
Bake for 17-20 minutes, until bottom edges just begin to brown and tops become firm.
Once baked, remove from oven and allow to cool on the pan. Use a very thin spatula to remove the cooled cakies and store them in an airtight container on the counter for one day, and then in the refrigerator for about 10 days.
Cakies freeze well for one month or longer when layered with paper towel or parchment and stored in a zipper sealed bag.
This recipe also makes great blondies—
To make them more the size of a brownie/bar, wipe or spray the bottom and sides of 2 9x13” baking pans with oil. Evenly spread half the mixture into each baking pan. Bake each pan for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a doughy spot in the center comes out clean (it’s tricky to find doughy spots because there are so many chocolate chips in this recipe … life is good!).
If you only have one 9x13” pan, you can bake all the batter up in one pan for 40 minutes and you’ll get very thick/tall blondies, more like a coffee cake worthy of eating with a fork.
Whether baking as blondies or coffee cake, remove from oven and set the pan(s) on a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving. Slice into squares, dig in, and devour.
Once fully cooled, store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.**
Cut blondies can also be wrapped in parchment and placed in a zipper bag/sealed container to store for at least 1 month in the freezer.
*For gluten free, be sure to use certified gluten free oats. To make your own oat flour whizz oats into a powder using a blender or food processor (steel cut -or- rolled oats work equally well).
**If these last a whole week in your household, you get a prize for willpower.
NamastYAY!
Maggie
